1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to magnetic fields. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and method for restoring and/or enhancing the earth's dc magnetic field, that has been degraded by time, that is degraded in a particular geographical area, that is being degraded by any man-made structure, and/or that is being degraded by an ELF (extra-low-frequency) or an rf (radio frequency) magnetic field, and for applying the restored/enhanced magnetic field into an internal portion, or into an entire being, of a human being or other living thing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various magnetic devices have been designed, patented, and sold as healing devices. For instance, permanent magnets have been used as shoe insoles, attached to various body parts, and distributed over large areas to provide magnetic mattress pads or blankets.
While the healing power of magnetic fields might be questioned, athletes and horse trainers are convinced that permanent magnets applied to a body part relieve muscle soreness and promote healing, and many individuals believe that permanent magnets relieve their arthritic pain. Some believe that healing is a result of increased blood flow proximal to the magnet.
Permanent magnets and permanent magnet devices that are sold for magnetic therapy may apply magnetic field densities of up to 1400 gauss to skin and flesh proximal to the magnet. While, the effect of these gauss levels on DNA might be questioned, there seems to be no evidence that they do any harm.
Included among patents that teach the use of permanent magnets for healing are: Markoll, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,049, issued Sep. 9, 1997; Guay et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,185, issued Jul. 13, 1993; and Sakuma et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,233, issued Sep. 15, 1998.
Lu et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,624, issued Aug. 4, 1998, teach magnetic treatment for disease in which a person's body is progressively scanned by permanent magnets that are placed on opposite sides of the body, and that subject progressive portions of the body to magnetic flux densities as high as 3,500 gauss (0.35 Tesla).
Continuing to consider the healing power of magnetic fields, in a December 2000 news report, treatment of malaria by a magnetic field was reported. Apparently, persons ill with malaria are placed in a room for a few hours wherein a magnetic field developed by Helmholtz coils is sufficiently high to spin red blood corpuscles.
With regard to healthful benefits of magnetic fields, U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,516, which issued on Aug. 10, 1999, Carl E. Baugh teaches the use of a magnetic field having a magnetic flux density of 1.0 to 5.0 gauss and a frequency of 0.5 to 30 Hertz. At least one company offers a device that uses pulsed magnetic fields. For instance, QRS America of Venice, Fla., offers a pad upon which a person may lie, and be subjected to magnetic-field therapy that is defined as, “quantron resonance therapy using pulsed electromagnetic fields operating at a range of frequencies.”
While some magnetic fields, such as the earth's dc magnetic field, are known to be healthful, there is convincing evidence that ELF magnetic fields, particularly in the range of 50 and 60 Hertz frequencies, and also microwave rf magnetic fields, such as used by cell phones, are detrimental to health.
Reports by many researchers are available on the Internet from EMF-Link of Information Ventures, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102, regarding the harmful effects of ac magnetic fields, both in the ELF range and the rf range.
Tests on breast cancer cells conducted originally by Dr. Robert Liburty, and replicated in four other laboratories, show that ELF magnetic fields, such as 50 or 60 Hertz magnetic fields, in the range of 2.0 to 12.0 milligauss cancel the oncostatic effect of melatonin.
ELF magnetic fields have also been connected with an increase of almost four times in Alzheimer's disease among workers who use industrial sewing machines, as reported by E. Sobel and his associates in two articles published in Neurology Magazine.
In the October 2000 issue of “Environmental Health Perspectives” (v 108, pp. 967-972), a study by Dr. James Trosko's laboratory at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. reports that ELF magnetic fields as low as 0.04 or 0.05 gauss can alter gene expression, and also act as a tumor promoter.
There have been disturbing reports concerning the deleterious effects of ELF magnetic fields on children. An increase in cancer and leukemia, of up to four times, has been reported to be occurring among children who live near power lines. Further, it has been reported that infant death syndrome occurs more frequently among children who live near power lines.
While much work has been done with regard to magnetic-field healing, and while the deleterious effects of ac magnetic field have been shown, both by statistical and laboratory evidence, very little has been done to overcome the deleterious effects of ac magnetic fields and thereby provide a more healthful environment.
However, Litovitz et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,665, issued Aug. 13, 1996, seek to overcome the harmful effects of ac magnetic fields by superimposing a “confusion” magnetic field onto an ac magnetic field.
While it is well-known that the earth's dc magnetic field is healthful and necessary for cell communication, it is also well-known that the earth's dc magnetic field is decreasing exponentially, as a function of (the mathematical number) “e” to a negative exponent that is equal to time in years, multiplied by a constant. Therefore, the earth's dc magnetic field quite likely is of a lower magnitude than that which would provide optimum health.
Further, the magnitude of the earth's dc magnetic field varies regionally, so that the earth's dc magnetic field is even further reduced in some geographical areas. Another factor is man-made structures. Man-made structures often degrade the earth's dc magnetic field in a living space. And, both the quality and effectiveness of the earth's dc magnetic field are being degraded by environmental factors, such as ELF and rf magnetic fields.
It has been reported that infant death syndrome occurs more frequently during storms of solar winds in which the earth's magnetic field is perturbated. Thus we see that infant death syndrome has been reported to be a function of both power line magnetic fields and perturbations in the earth's magnetic field. In addition, since the earth's magnetic field has “holes” in which the strength of the earth's dc magnetic field is reduced, these “holes” may be an other factor in infant death syndrome.